Just had to comment about the Dire Wolf.
I think the version they play here in 1978
is absolutely sweet and outstanding.
I have been walking around singing this tune both in my head and out loud for the last few days.
It just flows so well.

The sound is not as crisp on this show but still very listenable.
Funny people complained about repeats in the 80's and 90's well there are some tunes they play almost every night in 78.
I actually like repeats if they are not played in the same exact spot in a set. That is what would bother me about U.S. Blues/ Baby Blue in the encore spot.
I didn't mind Day Job as a song but they wore it out in the encore slot. I liked when Day Job closed Set 1.
Anyhow, they seem to do a good job of moving tunes around in the set lists in early 1978. Like Bertha > Good Lovin'.

A comment about Bakersfield. We lived up the valley in Turlock for a brief time.
(yes, Turlock of Grateful Dead lure)
so when we got to Bakersfield
we started asking how far we were from Turlock. And the standard answer we got was-
Are you sure that is in California?


BAKERSFIELD
She was born in central California
Just as sweet as the fruit on her daddy's farm
And my best friend said, "Man, I gotta warn ya
She's a city girl with a little country charm"

We all met up out in San Jose
With the top down, we headed for the bay
And with her hair blowin' in the breeze
She leaned and whispered, "My name is Tiffany"

But I called her Bakersfield
And it would always make her smile
Don't know where she is today
But she was mine for a while

Every time I drive through the California hills
I find my mind is on Bakersfield

A couple sunsets and mimosa mornings
I got more than my share of kisses on the beach
And Sunday found us too early without warning
She was once in my arms and now she's outta reach

Oh, I called her Bakersfield
And it would always make her smile
Don't know where she is today
But she was mine for a while

Every time I drive through the California hills
I find my mind is on Bakersfield
Yeah, every time I drive through the California hills
I find my mind is on Bakersfield, Bakersfield
-------------

LOSER is a great tune.
Always glad to hear it live.

Jerry still struggling on the vocals.
Hard time reaching the high notes on DEAL.
Donna coming alongside to help Garcia.
Another very upbeat Dead tune.
Deal ended up being a nice 1st set closer in the later years so it is nice to get it before 'Let it Grow' here.

Let it Grow- they are just nailing this tune.
Always good live in my opinion.
This tune really was best as a first set closer.
It occasionally made it into the 2nd set but for me I always loved the feeling i got when the lights came up after a burning LIG 1st set closer.

Set Two
Samson-!!!
Candyman- yes, cool to play it in the 2nd set.
The sound was a bit muddy for that tune but I like the idea.

ESTIMATED
a little bit too much time between tunes here for my liking but Phil plucks the bass as they prepare for Estimated Prophet.
Estimated > Eyes- this and Scarlet>Fire could just light up a show pre-drums.
Not sure why they broke up the Estimated >Eyes in later years? Heck they even went Eyes>Estimated which is just not the same impact to me.
Eyes was more than capable of being played with any other tune but to me Estimated Prophet kinda just fit with EYES.
This is a good ESTIMATED when they catch the groove they just run with it. Garcia out front and Lesh is ever present.
Not a particularly strong EYES, could be the sound. Oh well I have listened to so many EYES from 1973 I am probably spoiled.
THe jam away from EYES is actually kind of nice. It is great they didn't always do Drumz during this time period. I really feel like they needed to explore the jam here and not just bail into a drumz segment.
14 minutes of NFA and then SATURDAY NIGHT.
Obviously the issues with the sound guy and the heat leaked over into the show.
Too bad really. The most fragile thing at a show was the vibe. Anyone messing with that did so at their own peril.
Later part of this show is not the happy smiley side to be sure.
Although NOT FADE is a good community tune in certain situations it can have a very reckless 'devil may care' feel to it. [M.I.T-steps maybe best example of that vibe]

Been revisiting January 1978 lately, and this show had some surprises - it's really too bad the second set gets truncated, because they really start to burn during Eyes, and the space that follows contains the last instance of a tiger jam that I know of by about a year and a half (I could easily be wrong about about this), and they continue to pound it most of the way that slow and very heavy NFA too. Nice.

I disagree with the 'flat and uninspired' reviewer. This show is far from the best, but they are playing well, with the typical heavy energy that made this early '78 period special. Even by April, their sound would change a bit and some of that power is lost.

Anyways, this is a good show with several great performances: specifically, the Cassidy, Loser, Deal, and Let it Grow are top notch. Loser, despite Jerry's ragged voice, has a very powerful instrumental break with excellent ensemble work.

Jack Straw, Looks Like Rain, and Samson and Delilah are all good versions too. SQ is not great, but it's definitely better than the following night.

Most of this show is quite good, though the sound is indeed muddy at times, and something went seriously wrong with recording Keith's piano -- highly, highly distorted at times. As someone else mentioned the NFA is out of this world.

At exactly what point did this arrest of the sound man happen?

Just when I thought I had heard the best of the Dead in their prime, I became enlightened again. The second set of this show is a delivery of their absolutely brilliant late '77/early '78 power.

I was there front, and center. A great show it was. .. until the BPD moved in on their sound tech for drinking wine and disrupted the show. It was absolutely unnecessary as everyone in th eplace was smoking lots of pot and drinking openly. Jerry declared they would NEVER return, and then proceeded to finish the show... they just rushed the remainder of songs to meet the contract agreement. You could tell they lost their heart after that incident. This explains an earlier comment about how they seemed to be agitated...

average mix, balance seems messed up in parts, but its listenable.
I enjoyed how the eyes dissolved into chaos and then outerspace, even if its kinda sloppy and never hit the big jam out. Its like the band got frustrated and decided to obliterate the song and freaked out hard. The space is definately the best part. lend an ear just for that.
good ganja music ;)

I think the band sounds flat and uninspired. The mix is below average too. There are a lot of shows one should check out before wasting bandwidth here.

good sound